In late 2016, the Company unilaterally changed the timing of the pay out of vacation hours for MEM, IND, HKG & CGN pilots who elected December 31st as their retirement date. There was no legal requirement for management to change the timing of the payment. They achieved considerable savings by making the change. As we have previously communicated, they did it without providing proper notice which directly impacted some 2016 and 2017 December 31st retirees in the form of B fund contributions, 401k match, and potential negative tax consequences. We grieved the change including the lack of notice and recently achieved a settlement as follows:

Ensures that MEM, IND and FDA pilots who elected December 31, 2018 as their retirement date will have their vacation, accrued and unused, paid in January of 2019,

Provides a prospective mechanism for pilots contemplating providing their End of Career Sick Leave (SLB)/Advance Notice of Planned Retirement Bonus (AN+), so that those pilots will have 14 months advance notice of when a December 31st retiree’s vacation would be paid out, and

No change to the vacation payout upon retirement for ANC and LAX pilots as the laws applicable to those jurisdictions require payment no later than the pilot’s retirement date.

Every effort was made to encourage management to fully reconsider their 2016 move. This settlement is the result of that sustained effort. There is significant value in this settlement. The 2016-2017 remedy exceeds $1,000,000. Pilots due to retire on December 31, 2018, are protected as well. The fact remains, however, that management did not need to make the change in 2016 that it did. As Captain Dyer wrote to you previously, that is something which we should not forget.

Pilots contemplating a December 31st retirement post 2018 are strongly encouraged to contact our Retirement and Insurance team and attend a retirement seminar before committing to a December 31st retirement date.

AIRBUS FO NEEDS ASSISTANCE

Earlier today, we published a message requesting PDO bumps for fellow pilot Airbus FO Jay Morgan. Jay's son was recently diagnosed with a rare neurological virus and is currently in ICU. Please click here to read the full message.

EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY AND ALCOHOL TESTING

For our crews operating in Europe, please be aware the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has adopted a regulation requiring random alcohol testing of crews as part of ramp inspection programs in the various EASA member states. Each EASA member may have its own standard with respect to a BAC threshold. Some EU states have a “zero tolerance” threshold. While random testing has started in some member states, the regulation will not be fully implemented until 2020. Further guidance is being developed. ALPA has urged EASA to recognize the extremely robust US testing program and consider that in its testing prioritization. Nonetheless, the testing is mandatory.

The Membership Committee is seeking volunteers to serve as pilot mentors to our new hires. The intent is to assist new hires and help them successfully navigate through their probation period. We are sure that you would all agree that having a mentor available would be a great resource to them as they learn the FedEx system form. Training will be held September 18th and 19th for those interested in volunteering. Please click here to learn more and for information on how to sign up to be a mentor.

CALL TO ACTION - HELP KEEP TWO PILOTS IN THE COCKPIT

We encourage you to engage Congress on the critical Section 744 language regarding single-pilot operations. Participate in ALPA's Call to Action regarding this issue, and ask your friends and family to participate, too.

This program will have an impact on all of us—we need 100% participation from FedEx pilots! To participate now, click here.

IPAD TIP: SIG NOTES NOW ON THE IPAD

In continuing efforts to make the iPad more useful to you, we are pleased to announce the addition of the monthly SIG notes to the pilot iPad via the Secure Content Locker. These notes can be accessed by navigating to Repositories > AirWatch Content > Reference > Scheduling Improvement Group (SIG). The monthly SIG notes are an “On Demand” document meaning you will have to go to the document and request its download if you want to read it later offline, as opposed to an “Automatic” download document. While this folder only has the monthly SIG notes at present, it may expand to have other scheduling related content at a future date.

It is our goal in Flight Ops iPad Support to continue to provide you with helpful information. Please feel free to let us know what you think by writing to iPad Support at FDCMS@fedex.com.